MLAT Phonetic Coding & Sound Discrimination 2

Question 1

In the MLAT phonetic script, the symbol 'ð' represents which English sound?

Accepted Answer

The 'th' in 'this'

Answer

The symbol 'ð' (eth) represents the voiced 'th' sound as heard in 'this,' 'that,' and 'them.'

Question 2

Which pair of English words illustrates a minimal pair based solely on vowel length?

Accepted Answer

ship / sheep

Answer

Ship /ɪ/ and sheep /iː/ differ only in vowel length and tenseness, making them a classic minimal pair for vowel discrimination.

Question 3

A learner consistently confuses /r/ and /l/ sounds when learning English. This difficulty most likely reflects a deficit in which MLAT subskill?

Accepted Answer

Phonetic coding ability

Answer

Phonetic coding ability is the capacity to identify, encode, and remember foreign sounds, and difficulty distinguishing /r/ from /l/ directly tests this skill.

Question 4

If a spoken syllable has a high pitch that falls sharply, which suprasegmental feature is being described?

Accepted Answer

Tone

Answer

Tone refers to the use of pitch variation at the syllable level to distinguish meaning, as found in tonal languages like Mandarin.

Question 5

In MLAT-style phonetic tasks, a written nonsense word is read aloud and then presented again later. This tests the learner's ability to:

Accepted Answer

Associate sounds with written symbols

Answer

The task measures the ability to encode an unfamiliar sound sequence into a written symbol system and recognize it again — core phonetic coding.

(MLAT) Modern Language Aptitude Test Practice Test

(MLAT) Modern Language Aptitude Test Practice Test

MLAT Phonetic Coding & Sound Discrimination 2